Chapter 191 CHAPTER 191

Chapter 191 CHAPTER 191
Vivienne's POV
I was sitting on the floor, my back against the wall, my knees pulled to my chest. My arms were wrapped around them, my face buried in the fabric of my hoodie. The warmth of the fire was fading, leaving behind a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. The house was quiet, the only sounds the crackling of the dying hearth and the distant settling of the old wood.

Everything hurt.

Not just my body—though that was a part of it. My head was pounding. My throat was raw from screaming. My hands were still trembling, the memory of Emma's lifeless body, of the terrifying stillness before she came back, burned into my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her lying there, pale and cold, and I felt that same wave of absolute, soul-crushing despair.

But it was more than that. It was the weight of everything that had happened. The attack. The burial. The ritual. Emma almost dying. The grief pressing down on me from all sides, suffocating and relentless. My parents, the Steeles, the life I had started to build here—all of it had been ripped away and replaced with blood and ash and the faces of people I loved who were gone.

I was so tired. So incredibly, bone-deep tired. I wanted to close my eyes and never open them again. I wanted to sleep for years. I wanted to forget everything that had happened.

But I couldn't.

I couldn't falter now. Not when I was so close. Not when Rafael still needed me.

I had to survive the marking. I had to let him claim me as his mate. It was the only way to break the curse, to save him, to finally end this nightmare.

I heard his footsteps before I saw him. Slow, steady, deliberate. He was tired too—I could see it in the way he moved, in the shadows under his eyes, in the tension in his shoulders that refused to fully release.

He was carrying a glass of water. The sight of it made my throat burn with thirst. I hadn't realized how parched I was until that moment.

He knelt in front of me, holding out the glass.

"You look like you need this," he said quietly.

I took it, my hands trembling, and drank. The water was cool and clean, sliding down my throat like a balm. I drank until the glass was empty, until I felt the dryness ease.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He sat down beside me, not too close, but close enough that I could feel the warmth of him. He didn't speak for a moment. He just sat there, letting the silence settle around us.

"You're exhausted," he said finally.

"I'm fine."

"You're not." His voice was gentle, but firm. "You've been through more tonight than most people experience in a lifetime. It's okay to be tired, Vivienne."

I looked at him. At Rafael. The boy who had been carrying so much weight on his shoulders. The boy who had fought and bled and lost so much, and was still standing. His face was drawn, his eyes hollow. He had pushed himself past every limit tonight, and he was still holding on.

"I just want to rest," I said. "I want to close my eyes and not have to think about any of this. But I can't. I have to keep going."

"I know." His hand found mine, his fingers lacing through mine. "But you need to take care of yourself too. You can't pour from an empty cup, Vivienne."

I managed a small smile. "Is that a keeper proverb?"

He almost smiled. "Something like that."

We sat in silence for a moment. The fire crackled. The house creaked. Somewhere upstairs, Emma was sleeping, reborn.

"Rafael," I said quietly. "What happens after? When the curse is broken?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "I'm leaving."

I felt my heart stop. "What?"

"The human world. I'm going to go back to the supernatural realm. That's where my home is. That's where I need to be." He turned to look at me. "And I want you with me."

"With you?" I repeated. "But—I've never—I don't know anything about that world. I don't know the rules, the customs, the people. I've barely just learned that werewolves exist. I can't—"

"You can," he said simply. "You will. It's not going to be easy, but you'll learn. And I'll be with you the entire time. I'm not going to let you get lost."

"But what if I can't adapt? What if I mess up? What if I bring trouble to your pack because I don't know what I'm doing?"

He squeezed my hand. "Vivienne, listen to me. You've been through hell. You've watched your home get destroyed, you've buried people you loved, you've almost died. And you're still standing. You're still fighting. You've adapted to every impossible thing that's been thrown at you, and you're still here."

"That's different—"

"It's not," he said firmly. "You're stronger than you think. You always have been. And I'm going to make sure you never have to face any of it alone. You're my mate, Vivienne. Where I go, you go. And I will protect you with everything I have. You should never falter."

His words were a promise. A vow. They settled in my chest like a warm ember, pushing back against the cold and the fear.

But then the weight of what I had been avoiding pressed back in.

"Rafael," I said slowly. "What about what's inside me? The goddess. Elara said I'm a vessel for her. That she's been sleeping in me, waiting to wake up."

He was quiet. The fire crackled.

"I'm scared," I admitted. My voice was barely a whisper. "I'm scared that when she fully awakens, I won't be me anymore. I won't be Vivienne. I'll be something else. Someone else. And I don't want to lose myself."

He turned to look at me, his eyes searching my face.

"I've been conflicted about it for so long," I continued, the words spilling out now that I had started. "I never thought I would be... a vessel for a goddess. I didn't ask for this. I didn't choose this. And I don't even know how to take the news. Some part of me is terrified of what's growing inside me. And another part of me just—I just want to be the same old Vivienne. I want to still be the girl who reads books and drinks tea and gets shy around new people. I want to still be me."

His hand moved to my face, cupping my cheek, tilting my gaze to meet his.

"You will never lose yourself, Vivienne," he said. His voice was soft, but certain. "I won't let that happen. We'll find a way around this—together. You are still you. That's not something a goddess can take from you. It's who you are, at the deepest core of you. And no matter what happens, that part of you will always be there."

I felt tears press against my eyes. "Promise me?"

"I promise. On my name. On my wolf. On everything I am. I'll protect you. From the curse, from Adrian, from the goddess herself if I have to. You are my mate, and you will always be my mate. And I will always protect you."

I swallowed, forcing the tears back. He was being so strong. For me.

I had to be strong for him.

I was quiet for a moment. Then I asked, "What about the hockey team? The school? Coach? You're just going to leave them without saying goodbye?"

Rafael's jaw tightened. For a moment, he didn't answer. When he did, his voice was quieter.

"I'll tell Coach," he said. "I'll tell him the truth—or as much of it as he can handle. That I have to go. That it's not something I want, but it's something I have to do."

"Will he understand?"

"He'll be angry at first. But he's a good man. He'll understand eventually." He paused, looking at the fire. "I've been playing hockey for years. It's been a constant in my life. And I'll miss it. I'll miss the team, the games, the roar of the crowd. I'll miss the smell of the ice, the sound of skates cutting through it, the feeling of the puck on my stick. I'll miss everything about it."

"But you'll give it up."

"Yes. Without hesitation." He looked at me. "Because it's just a game, Vivienne. It's fun, it's exciting, but it doesn't matter. Not in the way this matters. Not in the way you matter."

I felt tears press against my eyes again. "What about Coach? He's going to be heartbroken."

"He will be. And I'll be sorry for that. But I'll make sure he knows that I'm grateful. That he gave me something I didn't know I needed. That for a few years, I got to be something other than the cursed wolf. I got to be a leader. A teammate. A captain."

He spoke softly, his voice carrying weight, as if he were savoring each word. As if he were saying goodbye.

"I'll never forget that," he said. "Coach, the team, the guys—they were my family in a way I didn't expect. And I'll miss them every day."

I listened, my heart aching for him. He was leaving behind a life he had built, a future he had carved out. He was giving it up for me.

"Rafael," I started.

But before I could finish, the memory of Mathias slipped into my mind. The guilt in his eyes. The weight he had been carrying for years. The confession that had shattered everything.

"Rafael," I said again, hesitantly. "What about Mathias? We need to talk about him. He was your best friend. He—"

He cut me off. His voice was sharper now, though not unkind.

"Not now," he said. "I can't—I don't have the strength to think about him right now. He made his choice. I made mine. We'll deal with that later. But not tonight."

I understood. The wound was too fresh. The betrayal too deep.

"Okay," I said softly. "Not tonight."

His hand found mine again, squeezing gently. "Thank you. For understanding."

We sat in silence again. The fire crackled. The clock ticked somewhere in the room.

And then I heard it.

One chime. Then another. Then another.

I looked at the clock. It was midnight.

Rafael followed my gaze. And then, unexpectedly, he chuckled. A low, quiet sound that surprised me.

"What?" I asked.

He turned to me, a small smile on his face. "Happy birthday, Vivienne."

I blinked. "My birthday?"

"It's officially your eighteenth birthday. At midnight."

I had forgotten. I had completely forgotten, lost in the chaos and the grief and the blood.

"It's my birthday," I said slowly.

"It is." His smile widened. "And I have a surprise for you. A gift."

"A gift?" I looked at him, confused. "What—"

He stood up, offering me his hand.

"Come with me," he said. "I want to give it to you."